Temporary Illness
by Chi Yagami
Summary: Everyone thinks Ryou is mental: he talks to himself, has no friends, & strange things happen when he's around. But it's not his fault! The Ring just HAD to break and let Bakura out! Will anyone ever understand him? Ryou x Tea x Bakura
1. I'm just Misunderstood

Disclaimer: I do not own YGO.

Hey guys, another ficcie here. But don't worry, I'm not quitting on my other fics!

Had ta get rid of the lyrics; stupid rules... In this fic, Yami and Yugi are brothers, and so are Marik and Malik. Ryou, however, still has the Millennium Ring, where Bakura dwells. He's the only one with a Yami. Pairing for this fic: Ryou/Tea (maybe Tea/Bakura in later chappies…)

'…' Ryou talking to Bakura (in mindlink)

… Bakura talking to Ryou (in mindlink; there's quotations once he's out of the ring, but only Ryou can hear him)

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**Temporary Illness**

By: Chi Yagami

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**Chapter One – I'm just Misunderstood**

Tea groaned as she got out of bed and hurried to get ready for school. Her best friends, Miho and Yugi, would meet her at the bus stop in ten minutes. She threw on a T-shirt and jeans, along with some tennis shoes. She jumped the last three stairs and hustled into the kitchen.

"What's the rush?" her mother asked. Tea stuffed a piece of toast in her mouth and chewed quickly.

"Me an da gang are gonna (chew) get ta schoo erwy (swallow). I mean, my friends and I are going to get to school early," she replied. Her mother just shook her head.

"Well, just don't give yourself a heart-attack eating breakfast."

Tea nodded, grabbed her backpack, and headed out the door. Yugi and Miho were already there, waiting for the bus.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked Tea. She just shrugged. Miho began to rant about how all of the tape on her answering machine had been used up.

"What happened?"

"Well," she answered, "when I got home, the machine said I had 57 new messages!"

"Whoa! Did the hospital need you or something?" Yugi asked fearfully. Miho's grandmother had been in the hospital for the last three years. Miho shook her head.

"Thankfully no. But it was super annoying when I found out who they were from…"

"You mean they were all from one person!"

"Hehehehe… Yeah, I don't think Tristan has much of a life…"

"TRISTAN!"

"Yeah… I guess he still hasn't gotten over me, or realized that I have a boyfriend," Miho giggled.

"A very overprotective boyfriend," Tea added.

Soon the bus arrived and took them to school. As they got off the bus and approached the school, they could hear two familiar voices yelling.

"MAI, ARE YOU CRAZY!"

"JOEY WHEELER, YOUR SISTER IS ENTITLED TO LIKE WHOMEVER SHE WANTS TO!"

Mai and Joey were arguing once again, and this time Tristan and Duke were on Joey's side.

"Hey guys! What are y'all arguing about now?" Tea said.

"Serenity has a crush on Kaiba, and this idiot here can't seem to get it through his thick skull that Serenity is a free person," Mai replied.

"Kaiba?" Yugi asked. "Isn't he like five years older than her?"

"Yeah," Duke said, "but Serenity doesn't seem to notice that! She could be dating me!"

"No she's not," roared Joey, "you're not gonna go near my sis! You're three years older dan her anyway!"

"Isn't Kaiba dating that Ishtar girl?"

"Ishizu? Yeah, they're both seniors…"

"So, let me get this straight," Tea interrupted. "Serenity has a crush on Kaiba, who's way older than her. But Kaiba's already dating Ishizu, and he probably hasn't even noticed Serenity. And this is a problem why?"

"Because Moneybags is a snothead! I don't want my sis liking people like dat!"

"Calm down, Joey; it's just a crush."

After Joey calmed down, they all went inside and met up with Yami, Marik, and Malik. Mai left to go meet up with some of her senior buddies, and Duke and Tristan had tutoring.

As Tea was walking to her locker, she felt a pair of eyes watching her from the front desk. She spun around to see a boy with long silvery hair staring at her. She shook her head and kept walking. Something about him creeped her out…

When the bell rang, Yami, Yugi, Marik, Malik, Miho, Tea, and Joey went to class. Joey met up with Tristan and Duke, while Malik helped Miho with some of her homework (they're dating). Marik and Yami decided to have a quick duel, and Yugi was watching his brother. Tea sighed and sat down.

Mr. Ugitama, their teacher, entered.

"SILENCE class. Thank you."

Everyone took their seats. The usually filled spot next to Tea lay empty because Yugi had been moved to the front row because of his height.

"Today," Mr. Ugitama continued, "we have a new student."

He walked over to the door and opened it.

"Please welcome—"

* * *

About the same time Tea arrived at school… 

"Ryou Bakura. New student, eh?" the secretary asked. Ryou just stared at her. The woman piled a stack of books on the counter in front of him. His eyes began to wander and he noticed a brown haired girl walking away from him. She walked so gracefully that it looked like she was gliding. As if sensing his gaze, she turned around and flashed a pair of sapphires in his direction before walking off.

The secretary announced that all of his books were in front of him and that he needed to get to class. Ryou took his books and stumbled off.

This school was definitely odd.

Want me to pulverize the old bat?

'Who? Oh, the secretary? Nah…'

You're too soft

'Can it; I have a lot on my—'

BAM!

Ryou'd been so busy talking to Bakura, he hadn't noticed where he'd been going. He'd bumped right into some boy. The boy looked him up and down ((AN: creepy…)) but then smiled.

"Need some help?" he asked, pulling Ryou to his feet.

"Thanks," Ryou said, almost whispering.

"Well, where's your first class, Miss?" the boy asked. Well, that got Bakura going.

Suddenly, Ryou was thrown into his soul room. He peeked out through the window and saw what was going on.

Bakura had suddenly grabbed the kid by his shirt. A small crowd gathered.

"What did you call me?" Bakura growled. The boy instantly realized the huge mistake he'd made.

"I-I'm sorry… It's just that… well, your hair—"

"WHAT ABOUT MY HAIR!"

"It's er-rather long…"

SMACK!

Bakura punched the boy and threw him to the ground. Then he picked up Ryou's books and made his way through the now large crowd. Then he switched back with Ryou, who hurried into the nearest bathroom.

'Bakura, why'd you do that? He made an easy mistake…'

Listen, Hikari, no one calls me a Woman. NO ONE!

'I don't want to get kicked out of another school, Bakura…'

Yeah, well I don't exactly like having a wussy hikari that I have to protect all the time!

'I'm not wussy!'

You're pathetic, wussy, ugly, wimpy, boring, safe, creepy, possessed, and most of all, too feminine looking!

"Shut up!" Ryou yelled aloud. He heard the toilet flush. A boy came out shaking.

"I didn't say anything…"

Ryou slapped his forehead and hurried out of the restroom. He heard the bell ring, and decided to get to class.

Awe, afraid you'll get in trouble?

'Shut up, Bakura. I'm already in a bad mood…'

Ooh… my little hikari is pissed at me… Whoop-tee-du!

Once again, Ryou had been so busy talking and not noticing where he was walking that this time he smashed into a wall. The chain of his Millennium Ring broke, causing the Ring to crash to the floor and break in half.

He stared in horror at the two separate gold pieces.

"Oh God, that did not just happen…"

"Oh but it did."

Ryou whirled around to see Bakura standing next to him. He didn't have his own body, he just looked sort of see-through.

"Bakura? How'd you get out of the Ring?" he asked.

"I dunno. I guess when It broke, It triggered some kind of chain reaction, causing me to materialize. And it's 'Oh Ra' by the way, not God," Bakura replied.

"Can people see you?"

"Nope. Only you."

"Can they hear you? Feel or smell you? Can you hear, see, smell, or touch them?" Ryou asked curiously.

"No, no, and no; yes, yes, no, and yes. I may be invisible, but that doesn't mean I can't touch things! Mwuahahaha, I could haunt people…"

"Wow," Ryou said as he put the two pieces of the Ring into his pocket

"You'd better get to class," Bakura snickered. Ryou gasped and raced towards the classroom. Just as he reached the door, it opened.

"—Ryou Bakura!"

Ryou stepped into the classroom, only to be greeted by 23 pairs of eyes looking at him. He heard Bakura mutter in Egyptian, more liked cursed, and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Ryou, I'm Mr. Ugitama. Why don't you tell us a little about yourself?"

Ryou stared at the class.

Bakura laughed.

"Oh! Tell them about the time you wet yourself in the bed! Or about the time you once mooned the whole fifth grade!"

"You mean you mooned the whole fifth grade," Ryou muttered, forgetting he'd spoken aloud ((AN: when the Ring broke so did the mind-link)).

"You mooned the entire fifth grade?" Mr. Ugitama gasped. The whole class started laughing. Ryou turned crimson and looked down. He'd have to keep Bakura under tight control.

"Well, Ryou, you may take the empty seat next to Tea. Tea, please raise your hand."

Tea raised her hand. Ryou trudged over to her and sat down. He realized she was the same girl from the hallway.

She realized he was the same boy from the front desk.

* * *

When the bell rang, Tea automatically went up Ryou and tapped him on the shoulder. He didn't notice. He seemed to be talking to himself.

"Now the whole class has the wrong impression of me! Thanks a lot!"

Silence…

"What? Me? It was YOU who mooned those kids!"

Tea tapped him on the shoulder again.

Ryou turned around and blushed. He'd been talking to Bakura again! Of course, she probably thought he was crazy.

"Uh… hi," he managed to say. She smiled.

"Hi yourself! I'm Tea Gardner; do you want to have lunch with me? Or did you already plan on eating lunch with someone else? Because if you did that's okay. I'm just trying to be friendly; I can't help it because that's just how I am. In fact, everybody around here calls me Miss Friendship, except for Yugi and Yami, but that's only because Yugi is nice and Yami has a crush on me, I think…"

She said this all very fast and very cheerfully. Ryou just stared at her.

"Someone needs to shut her trap," Bakura said.

"You said it," his hikari replied.

"Really?" Tea asked, her eyes lighting up. "That's great! Come on, I want you to meet the gang!"

She grabbed his hand and dragged him into the cafeteria. She pulled him over to a large round table. Ryou was just confused. Then he remembered that nobody else could hear Bakura! But how would he talk to Bakura without everyone thinking he had an imaginary friend?

"Everyone," Tea announced, "this is Ryou. Ryou, this is everyone!"

She pulled out two chairs, one for her and one for him, and asked everyone to introduce themselves properly. Everyone stared at him.

"Hey," said some blonde guy with a heavy accent, "you're dat kid who talks to himself, aren't cha?"

Ryou paled for a moment. Then Bakura had to open his big mouth.

"Yes he is, and aren't you the guy whom we saw cleaning the toilets?"

Ryou cracked up at this, getting everyone to give him weird looks.

"Uh… I just remembered a funny joke… hehehe…"

After everyone had introduced themselves, Tea tried to make small talk with Ryou. Meanwhile, Bakura was getting hungry. Usually whenever Ryou ate, Bakura would be "eating" too, but since they were separated, Bakura couldn't taste his light's food.

"Hikari, may I have some of your sandwich?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, sure; whatever." He'd been trying to listen to Tea, who was asking him if he wanted to hang out after school.

"You will?" Tea asked, thinking he'd been answering her. "Oh that's wonderful! How about we go to the—Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

She was screaming and pointing at something behind him. Ryou turned around to find Bakura taking his sandwich off the plate.

"What?" he asked her confused. "I told him he could have some of… it…"

He remembered that no one could see, hear, or feel Bakura, but he could pick up a sandwich. Tea must being seeing a floating sandwich!

* * *

So, how'd y'all like that? This is my first songfic, so please tell me if I'm doing it wrong. You can vote on whether you want Tea to end up with Bakura or Ryou, or even both! So please read & review! 


	2. Bakura's Mischief Begins

Disclaimer: I do not own YGO.

Yea! I'm so glad you guys liked it! I got a lot of reviews!

Well, so far, the votes are:

Bakura – 3

Ryou – 4

And now to address my lovely readers!

**Ishtarzkiss75**: Yes, something will happen. Thanks for the idea! Don't worry; you'll be happy in the end.

**Demon of Faith**: Hehehe... Yes, floating sandwiches are fun...

**Whimsical Lady** – Awesome! I got a review from you! Kwelies! I love your fics!

**Mastery Ruby**: Wow! You've review... like all of my YGO stories! Thanks!

And whenever I write that Ryou appears to be talking to himself, you know he's really talking to Bakura.

Oh, and each stanza of the lyrics appear at the beginning of a chapter (there's a different stanza for every chapter, unless I run out... ;P)

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**Temporary Illness**

By: Chi Yagami

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**Chapter Two – Bakura's Mischief Begins**

Everyone instantly turned their heads towards the floating sandwich. Everyone except Ryou, who was already watching Bakura take a huge bite of delicious ham and cheese. He instantly snatched the food back from his comrade and stuffed it into his mouth** (1)**. Everyone continued staring, the got up and moved to different tables. Tea wanted to stay, but Ryou saw the one called Yugi whisper something in her ear, and she too left.

Bakura glared at him evilly.

"I was eating that, you know," he said with a scoff.

"I know, but everyone saw you! You've got to keep a low profile!"

"Whatever... You know, I've never heard of a PMSing hikari," he replied with a smirk.

"I AM NOT PMSING!"

Well, that earned him the whole cafeteria's undivided attention, especially the group who'd been sitting with him moments ago.

"Is that guy mental?" Tristan asked.

"Is he even a guy?" Marik replied with a sneer.

"He appears to be talking to himself," said Yugi, whom (besides Tea) had the best view of what Ryou was doing.

"I vote we neva go near him again," Joey announced. "All in fava say 'I'."

Everyone's hand shot up except for Yugi, Tea, Yami, and Miho.

"What's the matter? Don't you guys agree with us?" Duke asked.

"Well..."

"Well what, Tea? The guy's delirious! A complete freak!"

"I think we should give him a chance," Yugi said softly. Tea agreed.

"I don't want to hate him or anything... I mean, I've got nothing against him," Miho stated.

"So, Yams, what's your reason?"** (2)**

"Yams? Joey, where the hell did you come up with that?" Yami demanded.

"Well, I call Yugi 'Yug,' so I figured I'd call _you_ 'Yams!'"

Everyone sweatdropped.

"Anyway, I suspect him of something."

"WHAT!"

"You're suspicious of him?" Tea asked bewildered. Yami nodded.

"Nobody talks to himself like that," he replied.

"Well, I'm giving him a second chance," she announced for the whole table to hear. Nobody said anything; Tea was the friendship queen. It was her nature to turn everyone she met into a close friend.

When school let out that afternoon, Tea skipped down the hall to Ryou's locker, where he was busy stuffing books into his backpack and telling himself not to do anything rational. This creeped her out a bit.

"Uh, Ryou... all set for this afternoon?" she asked, coming up behind him. He jumped about three feet into the air and spun around.

"Oh, hey Tea. Yeah, I'm ready. So where are we going?"

She was about to open her mouth when Ryou's locker door slammed shut. He paled and closed his eyes. He looked like he was about to faint.

"Ryou, are you okay?"

"Uh... yeah. Let's go," he said, grabbing her wrist and leading her out onto the street.

"So, where are we going?" he asked again.

"I thought maybe I go show you all the cool spots in Domino, starting with the Kame Game Shop!"

"Dear Ra, doesn't she ever shut up?" Bakura asked.

"Don't _you_!" his light replied.

"Huh?" Tea asked, thinking he was talking to her.

"Wha... Oh, never mind."

The continued on in silence, well, except for the raging yami.

"Here we are!"

They had stopped in front of a tiny shop. When they entered, the bell rang, and Yugi looked up from the counter smiling. But his smile soon shifted into a line when he noticed Ryou.

"Hey Tea! Ryou..."

Bakura scoffed. This place was run by the evil midget from his hikari's pathetic school? Although Bakura had to admit that the Duel Monsters cards intrigued him. Ryou and Tea were talking about their favorite cards.

"I like the Change of Heart," Ryou said. Bakura laughed at his reasons for that choice. As if Ryou'd ever get _him_ to change...!

"Me too," she replied, "but my favorite is the Dark Magician Girl..."

Bakura ignored the two mortals and strolled around the room. There were lots of rare cards that Bakura wasn't interested in, but one of them caught his eye: it was the Dark Magician Girl! He looked at Yugi, who was watching Ryou suspiciously, and smirked. His hikari would be in major trouble and the midget would be ticked!

He pulled a hairpin out of his pocket and began to pick the lock on the cards' case (**3)**. Making sure little Yugi wasn't watching, Bakura fished the card off the shelf and stuffed it into his pocket. The he went up behind Ryou and tapped him on the shoulder. Luckily, Tea had gone to talk to Yugi.

"What!" he hissed through gritted teeth.

"Here," Bakura said, holding out the card. "You can give your girlfriend this."

"Whoa! It's the Dark Magician Girl! Where'd you get it!"

"I found it on the ground in that pathetic bus we took to get to your school."

Ryou looked at him suspiciously.

"Oh I get it."

"Get what?"

"Come on! You're the King of Thieves! I think you stole it."

"What? Fine! I was just trying to be nice for a change, but my prissy hikari wants me mean, so that's that."

Bakura smiled inwardly as he watched Ryou get worried if Bakura might actually be telling the truth.

"Ugh... I'm sorry Bakura..."

Ryou took the card and tried to think of a decent way to give it to Tea.

Bakura chuckled as he continued wandering around the store. A stairwell caught his attention, and he decided to find out where they lead. At the top of the landing was a kitchen-living room. He found another stairway and went up those too. He discovered a messy bedroom decorated with DM memorabilia. There was also a boy lying on the bed. He looked just like that other boy downstairs.

"I remember him from that school, too," Bakura said. The boy stretched and got up. Bakura screamed (literally). The boy had no clothes on.

He looked frantically around the room as the boy walked towards him.

"Oh Ra; he's going to rape me!"

Bakura picked up some dirty pairs of pants and threw them at the guy, who, startled, fell backwards after stumbling and tripping on a Dark Magician Girl plushie.

Ryou heard somebody scream and turned to Tea and Yugi.

"Did y'all hear someone scream?"

They both shook their heads and Yugi gave him a weird look. Suddenly Bakura came running down the stairs and straight out the shop door, the bells jingling.

"Who—" Yugi started to ask.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

A half-dressed Yami came running down the stairs and crashed right into Tea.

"Uh... Yami?" she said blushing. He didn't have a shirt on and was lying on top of her chest. He blushed and got off her at once. Then he helped her up. Then he noticed the DM card in Ryou's hand.

"You play?" Yami asked.

Ryou mouthed 'me?' and Yami nodded.

"Yeah... But I'm not very good at it..."

"Well... Hey, that's a DMG card!" Tea exclaimed. "I didn't know you had one of those!"

Ryou smiled sheepishly, and Bakura whispered something in his ear. His body stiffened as he watched Yugi walk over to the card case. Ryou dropped the card, grabbed Tea's wrist, and dragged her out of the store and down the street.

"Yami! The DMG card is missing from the case!" Yugi exclaimed. Yami bent down and picked up the dropped card.

"It's still here." Yugi sighed with relief.

"But I'm still suspicious of that Ryou guy," he continued. "Why did he have a DMG card when ours was missing? And why did he run away so quickly? I think he stole it."

"Maybe... But Tea and I were right there; we would've seen him."

"Hmm..."

"Yami, why don't you have a shirt on?"

"Well, I had just gotten out of the shower and laid down on the bed, when I got up and all of the sudden your dirty clothes are being thrown at me! I thought I heard someone run out the door, so I put on some pants and followed them down here."

"Interesting..."

Yami smiled at Yugi, but deep inside he was angry. What was this new kid's motive? And why was Tea hanging out with him? He knew she was friendly but he also knew when and where to draw the line. Was Ryou using Tea as a source of information on her friends? He just had to find out the truth about Ryou Bakura.

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**(1)** Yeah right, like Ryou and Bakura would ever be comrades! More like two enemies who're stuck together!

**(2)** Pronounced like 'Yami' only drop the '–i' and add and '–s'.

**(3)** Why he would have a hairpin in his pocket, I have no idea. Maybe because his hair is so long, he has to pin some of it up... LOL.

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How was the chapter? This is just the beginning of Bakura's evil deeds that Ryou gets blamed for. Here's some things that are going to happen in Ch.3: Tea gets humiliated, Miho and Malik get into a little argument..., and there's somebody else's reflection in the mirror! Find out next chappie!

Since you've read this far, you might as well go ahead and review (XD).


	3. More Mischievous Fun

**Disclaimer:** I do not own YGO.

Alrighty, time for another chapter! But first, all the announcement crap-stuff:

Some of you got the idea that there was some Tea-Yami romance going on. Yes, it will seem like this for a while. But really, they don't like each other; they're just really good friends. And wouldn't you get embarrassed if a shirtless guy fell on you? LOL.

Voting Polls –

Ryou – 6

Bakura – 3

And to address my lovely readers:

**Kris Bluesummers**: Lol. Read above note.

**Luminaria**: Thanks for the cookies!

**Whimsical Lady**: Awe, thanks! Here's an update!

**Master Ruby**: Thanks for always reviewing!

This chapter is dedicated to **Ishtarzkiss75** and **Tasha 3** (her humorous fics were removed b/c of script-style and now she'll be leaving ).

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**Temporary Illness**

By: Chi Yagami

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**Chapter Three – More Mischievous Fun**

The couple was currently walking towards the Domino Arcade. After the card fiasco, Ryou had decided to keep a close watch on Bakura. The spirit was lagging behind them, and Tea was rambling on about how great Dance Dance Revolution was.

"You have to play it with me!" she said excitedly. "I'll go easy on you, I promise! What's your favorite song? I'm sure we can play it on DDR! I can't wait till you see it! You're going to love it!"

"Is there an off switch to her?" Bakura asked. Ryou just ignored him.

They entered the arcade and approached the DDR machine. At once, small crowd gathered around them. Ryou stepped up onto the platform uncertainly. He didn't really want to play this game. Oh sure, he knew how to play it, but he wasn't very good at it.

The music started, and Ryou found himself having trouble keeping up with Tea. He found himself constantly staring at her, watching the way her body swayed to the music. In the end, Tea won with a perfect score, and Ryou lost with a D.

Bakura growled. He hated seeing his hikari lose. It reflected on him. He pushed Ryou off the platform and chose a song.

Everybody gasped; the machine had started up all by itself! Tea glanced at the screen and noticed a game was about to start.

Bakura smiled; he was going to beat this girl. He was an excellent DDR player. The game began, and Bakura instantly had the lead.

Everybody was gasping and screaming: it was like Tea was playing DDR with a ghost or something. The platform arrows would light up all by themselves. But what was worst of all was the fact that Tea was losing.

Ryou scrambled to his feat.

"Bakura!" he shouted. "What are you doing? Get down from there now!"

Everybody started laughing.

"Hey look, the queen of DDR is losing to his imaginary friend! How sad!"

Tea lost by ten points, and everybody was laughing at her.

Ryou found her by the restrooms, hiding from everyone.

"Tea! I'm sorry! He wasn't supposed to—"

"HE? I was beaten and embarrassed by some imaginary person of yours!" she yelled at him. "It's true… what they say about you at school… You really are crazy…"

She pushed him aside and ran out of the building, tears streaking down her cheeks. Ryou stood there dumbfounded.

"So, mate, quite impressive, eh?" Bakura asked, coming up behind him. Ryou turned and glared at him.

"Bakura, I'm tired of you! You're ruining my life! The one friend that I had a chance of making now hates me!"

"Yo," one of the kids called, pointing to Ryou, "he's still talking to his imaginary friend! Awe, what a widdle waby!"

Ryou ran out of the arcade and down the street, Bakura hurrying after him.

"You know, I was only trying to get you your dignity back!" he growled.

"I didn't care about losing to her! Everybody else thinks I'm insane, and now she does, too!"

"FINE!" Bakura yelled suddenly. "I. AM. SORRY!"

"What?" he asked bewildered. His yami had never been nice before…

"I said I'm sorry. Look, why don't you call her up?"

Bakura was acting really strange…

"But I don't have her number…"

"Look it up in a telephone book," he suggested. "I'm sure you can find one in the library."

The two boys headed off to the library. Ryou hoped Tea would understand how sorry he was. He cursed himself for not watching where he was going and breaking the Ring.

* * *

The library was a very large building, and he had to ask the librarian for help before finding the telephone books. While Ryou was busy looking up his friend's number, Bakura wandered around the room, looking for some kind of amusement. He heard laughter coming from a nearby table and decided to investigate.

"Oh, Malik, you're impossible!" Miho giggled as her boyfriend tugged playfully on her ponytail.

"I told you: I'm busy," he said with a grin.

"All week?"

"Weeeeeeeeeeeeell, not right now," Malik said, pulling her in for a deep kiss. Bakura stuck his tongue out in disgust. He was glad Ryou didn't have a girlfriend.

Bakura grinned mischievously: it was time for some more fun…

Miho left to go to the bathroom, and Malik rested his head down on the table. About 5 minutes later, he was sound asleep. Bakura looked through the guy's backpack and pulled out some paper and a pen. He smirked as he wrote down a message. Then he moved Malik and the chair he was sitting in to a far away table, and he replaced the spot with an empty chair, making it seem as though Malik had left. Then he left the note on the table, grabbed all of Malik's stuff, and moved over to where Malik was asleep. The he wrote another note.

Miho came out of the bathroom to discover that Malik was gone, and a note was left on the table.

_Dear Miho,_

_I'm sorry to say – no wait, I'm NOT sorry – that I'm breaking up with you! I hate you, you…_ (followed by a long list of bad words)

_-Malik_

Miho filled with rage; she knew Malik was a bad boy from the start. She gathered her stuff and stormed angrily out of the library.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ryou had finally narrowed down the list of Gardners to only two addresses. He had tried all of the other 46 with no luck.

He dialed the number and waited.

"Hello? Hello, is anyone there? I'm hanging up."

It was her.

Ryou was about to open his mouth when—

"No, Yami, nobody's on the phone. Yes, you can now call Yugi and tell him you're staying here for the night." Click.

The phone slipped out of his hand and fell to the floor with a CLANK!

Yami was sleeping over at her house. No wonder they were always smiling at each other or blushing. His hopes of her forgiving him were crushed; she was probably blabbing about the whole thing to Yami right now.

Bakura appeared next to him, and for some odd reason that Ryou didn't want to know, he was smirking.

"Get a hold of the girl?"

"That guy who was in the game shop with only his pants on is sleeping over at her house."

Bakura choked and made a face of disgust. Something had to be done…

"Come on, let's get out of here and go home," Ryou said.

* * *

An hour later, Malik woke up. He looked around for Miho, but he didn't see any sign of her or her stuff.

He glanced down and saw the note.

_Dear Malik,_

_I'm breaking up with you! I know about you and that other girl! I can't believe you, you…_ (followed by another long list of nasty words)

_-Miho_

Malik ripped up the note and stormed out of the library.

"That wench will pay, big time."

* * *

That night, after Ryou had gone to sleep, Bakura snuck out of the house. He had the scrap of paper that Ryou had used to copy down Tea's number and address on. He quietly snuck into her back yard, and then, into her house.

Tea looked at her watch and gasped. It was already ten o'clock and she and Yami had just finished watching a movie. After Tea had left the arcade, she had run into Yami and told him everything. As her best friend, he promised to cheer her up with a night of partying.

"You know, we could call this a slumber party if you were a girl," she giggled, looking up at Yami's face. They were currently sitting on the couch. They had been watching Scream II, and Tea had gotten so scared that she'd curled up in Yami's arms **(1)**.

"Yes, well, I'm not a girl," he replied. They looked at each other for a while until Tea felt a little uneasy. She smirked Yami, and he gave her a questioning look.

"PILLOW FIGHT!" she yelled, snatching up one of the sofa cushions and bopping him on the head.

"Cheater!" he yelled as she jumped off the couch. He grabbed a pillow and chased her around the room. Bakura poked his head around the corner just in time to see Yami toppling Tea. From his point of view, it looked like Yami was straddling her.

"Are they having sex!" Bakura wondered aloud.

Yami ditched his pillow and started tickling her. She started howling with laughter and tried to roll over. However, Yami was much stronger than she was, so she was pinned to the ground.

"You won't escape!" he cried victoriously.

"Oh (laugh) yeah? (laugh) Let's just (more laughing) see about that!" she said, reaching for her pillow and smacking him in the face with it. Yami released her, and she started to run towards the kitchen. But he was too fast for her. Halfway there, he wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her up.

Half kicking in protest and half laughing, Tea was thrown back onto the couch, and Yami sat on her back, shoving a victory sign in her face.

"I believe I win," he said smirking. She smiled and rolled over so that he was now sitting on her stomach **(2)**.

"I haven't had this much fun since… since we did this five years ago!" she said, gasping for breath. Yami nodded. They had been friends ever since he stood up for her in kindergarten when some bullies had been picking on her.

Bakura, who had been watching this whole scene, wanted to puke. He didn't like Yami, mostly because of the incident in the bedroom.

"Why don't they get married already! They were practically HAVING SEX!"

"Yami, can you get off of me now?" she asked.

"I don't know… I kind of like this new pillow of mine," he replied smirking. She stuck her tongue out at him and pushed him off the couch. Then she sat up.

"I think it's time for bed," she said with a yawn. He nodded, and they both went upstairs. Bakura followed them.

At the top of the stairway, Yami kissed Tea on the cheek and said goodnight **(3)**. She then went into her own room, with Bakura trailing after her.

While she was taking a shower and making the mirror all steamy, Bakura got an idea. He crept into the bathroom and waited until the mirror was really steamy (no, he did not try to look at her!).

Tea turned the shower off and wrapped a towel around her body. But as soon as she had stepped out of the shower, she screamed.

Yami came running into the bathroom and tried to comfort her.

"What's wrong?" he demanded. Tea pointed to the mirror.

Written into the steam was the following message:

I'M SORRY.

While Yami and Tea tried to figure out who could've written it, Bakura left the house and went back to his own, hoping she would get the message.

After Yami had convinced Tea that there was no one in the house, they had gone to sleep, this time Yami was sleeping on the floor.

Tea, however, lay awake thinking. She hadn't told Yami about what she had seen in the mirror. Where she should've seen her reflection, she had seen Ryou Bakura's.

* * *

**(1)** I do not own the movie Scream II or any of its partner movies.

**(2)** Yes, I know what you are thinking: Yami is going to rape Tea. Or something like that. No, as I have said before: they don't like each other that way; they're best friends, and they're really comfortable around each other.

**(3)** Not a kiss of passion or anything. It was just a kiss of friendship, showing how Yami cares for Tea.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Well, I hope this satisfies your need to read! If it doesn't, go check out some of my other fics! Please review!

**IMPORTANT NOTE:** I have decided that whoever reviews this chapter first will get to decide who Tea is paired up with in my next fic. However, she DEFINITELY NOT BE paired with Duke, Tristan, Joey, Mokuba, or Yugi… which leaves the following people to choose from: **Bakura, Malik, Ryou, Yami, Marik, or Seto Kaiba**. So you'd better review fast!


	4. Missing You

**Disclaimer:** I do not own YGO.

**IMPORTANT NOTE: YOU CAN VOTE FOR WHO YOU WANT TO END UP WITH TEA ON EVERY CHAPTER! YOU GET TO VOTE ON EACH CHAPTER REVIEW! REMEMBER, YOU CAN VOTE FOR RYOU, BAKURA, OR BOTH! SO PLEASE CAST YOUR VOTES!**

I know you have all been anxiously waiting for this chapter (crickets chirp) and so here it is!

Some of you had questions as to why Bakura could play DDR so well, and some of you thought people should've been scared of a ghost instead of laughing at Tea. Well, you will find out the answer to the first one in this chapter, but as for the second one, I don't know what chapter the answer will appear in.

Voting Polls are the same kuz nobody voted.

And to address my lovely readers:

**Sailor Tiamat**: You were the first reviewer! Your MarikxTea story has been posted! I hope I explained things well enough for ya!

**Kris Bluesummers**: Yah, if I ever write any YamixTea stories, it won't be very long. I just don't like him very much.

**Rayne B**: I hope your questions have been answered. And remember, you can vote every chapter.

v son sayian: The mirror question will be answered in later chapters.

**WolfBane2**: Awe, you weren't first. But you can still review this chappie!

**samuraiduck2**: Here's your update!

* * *

**Temporary Illness**

By: Chi Yagami

* * *

**Chapter Four – Thinking of You**

Ryou woke up the next morning – or say, the next afternoon – to find that Bakura had already left to go somewhere.

'Where in the world would a tombrobber need to go on Saturday afternoon?'

He sighed and sat down on the couch, thinking of yesterday. He smiled at the thought that Bakura actually enjoyed DDR.

It had all started a couple of years ago at summer camp…

_–Flashback Mode–_

_The third day at Camp Woodard was always Olympics Day. Ryou wasn't very good at sports, and he hated Olympics Day._

_'Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah! You suck at sports!'_

_'Shut up Bakura! I can't believe you have to be here, too. I hate this stupid Ring. Why couldn't I have gotten something else for Christmas?'_

_Ryou sighed and looked around. Every camper had to participate in at least one event. Ryou usually tired the beanbag toss, but this year he was too old for that._

_'Hey, since you're a little girl, why don't you try that dancing game over there?'_

_'I don't need your help. And I'm not a girl! You look just like me, ya know.'_

_'I know.'_

_'Well, if you're so confident, why don't you do DDR?'_

_'I think I will!'_

_Bakura had then taken over Ryou's body and challenged one of the girls to a game of DDR. He lost of course, and he swore to have his revenge one day._

_–End Flashback–_

The very next day after Ryou had come back from camp, Bakura made him buy a DDR machine, so that he could practice every day and become the world champ. Then he would go back to that camp and challenge them again. Too bad Ryou never went back after that.

"Ah, the good old days," Ryou murmured. He opened a soda and took a sip.

Suddenly, the door slammed and Bakura came into the den.

"Where have you been?" Ryou asked. Bakura gave him a loathing look.

"Watching your girlfriend and the spiky yellow moron have sex."

Coke was spewed all over the coffee table, and Ryou looked as if he was about to barf.

"WHAT!"

"Oh yes," Bakura snickered with a tone of hatred, "I saw them doing it on the couch last night. And they kissed."

"Are you SURE?"

"Well, at least that's what it looked like."

Ryou slammed his fist onto the table. He had to do something. Even if she didn't like him back, that didn't mean she should go and have sex!

"Come on; let's go do something."

* * *

"TEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?"

"What NOW, Yami!" the brunette asked, turning the clothes rack. They were going shopping for Prom outfits **(1)**. Serenity, Mai, and Ishizu were all busy, so Tea had taken the next available person.

"I have to pee!" he whispered, holding his pants and squashing his legs together like a little boy.

"Then go find a bathroom!"

"But…"

"JUST GO!"

Tea wandered off to the purse section while Yami looked for a bathroom.

"I hate malls," he muttered. "You can never find anything…"

He spotted a directory and hurried over to it, but he stopped when he saw a certain someone talking to himself.

"Are you sure she said she would be here?" Ryou was saying. "I mean, you heard Tea say she was going shopping at this exact mall?"

Yami froze. How did Ryou know that they were shopping? And what was he doing here? He held his breath when he heard–

"–don't KILL Yami!"

This guy was absolutely crazy and delusional. Yami had to warn Tea.

Tea was busy looking at blouses when Yami returned.

"What's wrong?"

"We have to leave. Now. Ryou Bakura is here, and he's looking for you and me. I heard him say something about killing me!"

She dropped the shopping bag.

"Are you sure?"

"YES! We have to get out of here now!"

The two ran from the department store and out into the open.

"Tea!"

They turned around to see an oh-too-familiar albino running after them.

"RUN!"

Tea and Yami sped down the aisle, getting weird looks from the people around them. Ryou stared after them confused.

"Why are they running away?"

"Maybe because they think you're crazy," Bakura suggested sarcastically.

The two practically ran down the escalator and into the food court. Bakura was hot on their tail, way ahead of Ryou, who'd gotten stuck in the elevator.

Tea propped herself with one hand resting on a table. She happened to glance down and see, written in ketchup on the tabletop—

TEA,

I AM SO SORRY! WON'T YOU GIVE ME A SECOND CHANCE?

She screamed and showed it to Yami.

"What the hell?" he asked. "Is he like stalking you?"

"I don't know… Let's just get out of here!"

* * *

"It's a good thing we got out of there!"

"Yet we're STILL shopping for clothes!"

"Yami," she giggled, "you HAVE to wear a tux! What would Ishizu say if her date showed up in leather!"

"She'd say I'm sexy!" he joked. Tea bopped him on the head. They had ditched the mall and were now at a different one.

"I still can't figure out how he wrote that on the table," she pondered. Yami picked up a purple tie with hieroglyphics.

"Awesome," Tea said, giving him a thumbs-up. "Ishizu will love it!"

Meanwhile… 

After Bakura had rescued Ryou from the elevator, they headed after the other two.

"How do you know where they're going?" his hikari asked confused.

"Just a guess," he mumbled. He really didn't know why he was even helping his hikari.

'Am I going soft? What is wrong with me?'

"Well, Domino is a pretty small city… They couldn't have gone far."

The two entered the only other mall in the city, hoping Tea would be there.

She was.

Bakura first noticed her going into a dress shop with Yami. He secretly followed them, listening to their conversation. Ryou was looking on the other half of the mall.

"Tea," Yami wined, "do you really need to get a new dress?"

"YES. Stop complaining!"

Bakura chuckled. He watched her show of several dresses to Yami, but none of them seemed to complement her. He glanced around and noticed a sapphire blue dress with a VERY low neck. It was all sparkly and had a low back. He smirked at how he thought the v-neck would look on her.

He snatched the dress off the rack and threw it into the pile of dresses she was about to try on. About a minute later, she came out wearing the blue dress.

"Wow," Yami said. "Tea, you look wonderful! And it fits you just right!"

"Yeah… I don't remember picking it up though…"

"Good thing you did."

"The neck's a bit too low," she said, sighing. She didn't like the fact that some of her cleavage was revealed; however, somebody else in the room was actually enjoying themselves.

'She better buy that dress!'

Bakura loved the way it fit her every curve, and he actually thought she looked good.

'Wait… Am I having feelings for this mortal girl whom my hikari likes! Dear Ra, I hope not! No… It's just the dress…'

She bought the dress and they continued shopping.

As Tea and Yami were leaving the mall, she smiled. She had actually liked running away from Ryou. It was almost as if she was toying with him… flirting with him…

* * *

**(1)** Prom is a special dance for only juniors and seniors in high school, but I'm making it all of high school. It's basically just a really special (really-money-spending) dance.

* * *

Yea! Go me! Another chappie finished!

Please review!


	5. Ryou x 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own YuGiOh! or _Unwell_ by Matchbox 20.

Hmm… In this chappie, you will find out why everyone was laughing at Tea in the arcade, and Tea's going to meet Bakura! Oh, and about the Prom thingy: I meant that usually it's just juniors/seniors who get to go to the prom, but in THIS fic, all freshmen, sophomores, and juniors/seniors can go. The gang are sophomores.

This chapter doesn't really have a dedication, so… I DEDICATE THIS CHAPPIE TO ALL MY WONDERFUL READERS! Thank you!

A caught a mistake I made, and I'm surprised no one else caught it. Remember how Kaiba and Ishizu were dating at the beginning of the fic? Well, last chapter said that she was going to the dance with Yami! Heh, I guess I just got caught up in trying to prove that Yami and Tea weren't going to the dance together that I forgot about Kaiba! Oh well, that will be explained…

Voting Polls:

Bakura – 3

Ryou – 6

Both – 10

Looks like it's gonna be a triangle… Only a few more chappies until voting polls close!

**samuraiduck27**: Uh, actually, that was Bakura writing that on the table. Ryou got stuck on the elevator (XD).

**DojomistressAmbyChan**: Don't worry; Yami and she won't be having any more, uh slumber parties and whatnots.

**Master Ruby**: Thanks for the review! And my computer does that too sometimes.

* * *

**Temporary Illness**

By: Chi Yagami

* * *

**Chapter Five – Ryou x 2**

It was a week before the Prom, and Serenity still hadn't found a dress. She was trying to impress the now single Seto Kaiba, who had been recently dumped by Ishizu.

"So _why_ did you dump Kaiba?" Tea asked again.

"He was too boring, and wasn't very romantic… Serenity, I'll give you a fair warning: if he's even into you, you probably won't be able to tell," she told the young girl.

"So Serenity," Mai asked confused, "how come you get to go to the Prom. You're only in 8th grade, right?"

"Yeah, but Tristan and Duke both asked me, so… I told Duke no and Tristan yes. I think Joey trusts Tristan more…"

Tea laughed. She, Mai, Serenity, and Ishizu were finally shopping together. After the incident at the mall with Yami, she had decided never to take a guy shopping again.

She wished she had a date. Ishizu had Yami, Serenity had Tristan (and although she was only using him to see Kaiba, she still had a date), and Mai had Joey. After Duke had been crushed by Serenity, he had asked her, but Tea had said no. She would go with Yugi, but he was already going with Rebecca. She could always ask Kaiba… but he'd surely say no and Serenity would probably get mad. Malik was probably going with Miho, and Marik was just too creepy. Of course, there was always _him_… Ryou Bakura. But he was even creepier than Marik.

The girls finished shopping, and Tea returned home.

She slammed the door and went straight up to her room.

'Why am I so crabby? It's not _that_ time of the month, it better not be! Urgh… I'm just so stressed out. Why is Ryou stalking me? Should I tell somebody? Ugh… I think I'll take a nice relaxing bath…'

* * *

The next day at school, Tea decided to find a date. She decided a last resort could be to ask Marik… but ONLY as a last resort. She entered the library to find Malik studying.

"Hey, bud, what's up?" she asked, sitting next to him. "Where's Miho?"

Malik gave her the 'why-the-heck-would-you-EVER-mention-that-name-around-me' look.

"You're not dating Miho anymore?"

"No… little witch ditched me the other day… I think she's going to the prom with Kaiba… grrr…"

"_Kaiba's_ going with her?" Tea asked shocked.

"Yep. And now I'm dateless…"

Tea nodded.

"Join the club," she said.

Malik looked at her in a new light suddenly.

"Hey! Why don't we go together?"

"Really?"

"I don't see why not," he said grinning. "I mean, weren't you looking for a date anyway?"

"Yeah… You know, if I couldn't find anybody else, I was going to ask your brother…"

"You've got to be kidding me," Malik said laughing as they left the library. "Oh, Tea…"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about what happened to you in the arcade…"

"You were there?" she asked. "Great… another person to witness my demise…"

"Yeah well, Marik was there too… and he paid everybody five bucks to laugh at you," her friend told her.

"What? Why the heck would he do that!"

"Remember back in seventh grade when you punched him in the nose and everybody laughed?"

"HE NEVER GOT OVER THAT!"

"No… He said he wanted to give you a taste of your own medicine…"

They entered the cafeteria and joined the usual group. Well, after Tea slapped Marik and called him a selfish bastard in front of the whole school.

Ryou and Bakura were watching from _their_ usual table in the far right corner. He was going to ask her to the prom until Bakura told him she was going with Malik.

"Bakura, why do you have to creep her out so much? I mean, when you wrote that ketchup on the table, she flipped out," Ryou said.

"I don't know… it just seems fun."

"Do you think I should go to the prom?"

"Yes," Bakura replied. "Tea will be there…"

"Well," he said, "I'm thinking I should give up on Tea… she's never going to like me anyway."

"You can't give up now!" Bakura exclaimed, slamming his fist down on the table, causing the mustard bottle to fall over and several people to give Ryou yet more strange glances. "You've dragged me too far into your personal life now to back out."

"You… you actually care about me?"

"I wouldn't put it that way. Once I get going on something I'm going to finish it, and Ra damn it you're going to get Tea back!"

'Back? What the hell is he talking about? I never had her to begin with… and I'm surprised she isn't going to the dance with Yami… I wonder if they were ever really dating, or if Bakura was exaggerating…'

* * *

The night of the dance, Ishizu, Yami, Tea, and Malik all rode up to the school in Ishizu's car. Ishizu had on a very elegant Egyptian robe trimmed in hieroglyphics, and her long black hair was wound neatly into a bun. Yami was dressed in his black tux and Egyptian tie, and Malik was wearing a white tux and a purple tie. Tea had on her blue dress and matching shoes, and her hair was also in a bun but with small strands hanging down.

The four of them entered the cafeteria to find the place decorated beautifully. Tables were set up around the room, and people were dancing out in the center. Yami spotted their other friends.

"Hey! Joey! Mai! Tristan!" he called out as they walked over.

Joey waved back. Mai was wearing a strapless gold dress, and Serenity had on a light pink dress that looked way too long for her. Yugi, Joey, Tristan, and Duke were all wearing black tuxedos, and Rebecca had on a light yellow dress. Tea spotted Miho over with Seto Kaiba and waved. Miho said something to her date and then came over. She had on a long white dress that had lots of ruffles.

"Tea!" she squealed, giving her friend a large hug. "You look so beautiful! Who's your date?"

"Umm… him," she said, jerking her head towards Malik who was staring daggers at Miho. "We only came as friends; don't worry."

"Good," Miho said, "because Malik's a selfish pig who just dates girls to mess with them."

"And Miho's a selfish brat who doesn't know when to stop calling you!" Malik said through gritted teeth. Tea could feel the tension building up so she walked Miho back over to Kaiba.

"Hi Kaiba," Tea said. "You look… nice…"

"Don't you think that neckline's a little low? Or do you intend showing yourself off to the school?" he snickered.

Miho shot a mean glance at him and apologized. Then she dragged him out onto the dance floor, waving good-bye to Tea.

She shook her head and looked around for Malik.

"Tea?"

She turned around to see Ryou looking at her. He was wearing a white shirt and light blue pants. Tea noticed he didn't have a tuxedo on like most of the boys. He actually looked really nice.

"Wow, you look lovely," he said with a smile. "Would you like to dance?"

"Uh," she said, glancing around for Malik. A slow song started…

Suddenly, Tea felt as if her arms were being placed around Ryou's neck. She looked at him; he looked kind of disappointed.

"Yes," Bakura said to him, "I know you wanted her to say yes by herself but at least this way you get to dance."

Bakura pulled the two pieces of the Ring out again and left. He decided maybe he could try taping it back together…

Ryou decided to make small talk with Tea.

"Umm, listen. I'm sorry about all of the weird stuff that's been going on… but I want you to know that I really like you Tea."

"You've been stalking me!" she said. "Everywhere I go, I run into you!"

"Maybe it's just coincidence… Are you and Yami still dating?"

Tea pulled away from him.

"What? Who said we were dating?"

"You mean you weren't?"

"NO! Yami and I are just FRIENDS."

"Oh…"

They danced in silence for the remainder of the song.

"Thanks for the dance," he said, kissing her cheek and walking away.

Tea touched her cheek and smiled. Maybe things were looking up after all…

She decided to go looking for Malik. He was probably arguing with Miho in a corner somewhere…

She turned down a hallway, not knowing that someone else was up ahead.

Bakura hadn't been able to find any tape. He sighed and leaned up against a row of lockers. He fingered the gold pieces in his hands. He held them up in front of his face and put them together, as if they were one again. He didn't notice the soft glow it gave off…

He turned around to go find Ryou, but instead he saw Tea walking towards him.

"Ryou, what're you doing here? How'd you change so fast?" she asked him.

"Me?" Bakura asked. _He_ must be hallucinating now.

"Yes you. What're you doing?"

"I don't know… Let's go back out there, shall we?" he asked shakily. He grabbed Tea's hand and pulled her back into the cafeteria. He spotted Ryou by the punch bowl.

"Ryou, where are we… Oh my god."

Bakura turned back to her and stopped. Ryou looked up and saw Bakura and Tea. He walked over to them.

"Oh my god! There's two of you!" she shrieked. Bakura and Ryou looked at each other and gasped.

Bakura reached down into his pocket and pulled out the Millennium Ring. It glowed brightly in his hand. Ryou caught Tea shortly before she fainted, but Bakura kept staring at the Ring that had somehow pieced itself back together.

* * *

Yippee! Another chappie done! Thanks for waiting so long!

Please review! Sayonara!


End file.
